In an interview Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis defended a viral campaign ad that criticized former President Donald Trump’s support for Pride Month.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke with Outkick host Tomi Lahren about the backlash he faced with the ad. He said Laren Trump was at the forefront of promoting gender ideology and that it was a “fair game” to showcase it. (Related: Trump will paint DeSantis as establishment hawk, insider says)

“I think it’s perfectly fair to identify Donald Trump as a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, including pitting men against women in beauty pageants.” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said Laren Trump changed his stance on gender-ideological issues for political purposes.

“He’s now campaigning against saying that men shouldn’t participate in women’s sports like athletics,” DeSantis said.

Florida’s governor contrasted with Trump, arguing he would fight harder to prevent women’s rights to fair competition from being violated.

“We believe in upholding the rights of girls and the right of female athletes to participate fairly and honestly,” DeSantis added.

DeSantis added that he believes the concept of gender fluidity is part of a broader attack on women’s rights and “truth itself.” He cited former University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Leah Thomas as an example, saying Thomas’ victory was a “lie.”

“We know that not only is it infringing on opportunities for other female swimmers, but we also know that it is a lie and not the truth. I think there is value in making sure there is.”

the video is called Due to “homophobia” former Trump administration official Rick Grenell has been criticized by the conservative LGBT group Georgia Log Cabin.